Recent Pot Lid Scam on Ebay

The following auction shows an image from the deantiques pot lid gallery presently listed for sale by a seller in the netherlands. http://www.deantiques.com/PLG/images/Uklids/the_beehive_healey_and_co.jpg

Most of the subtle distinguishing marks / crazing thoughout this lid remian. Contacted the owner of this lid tonight and he assured me it is sitting safely in a collection in SA. Please be advised.[]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6133773409

[]I spent the evening before last on a similar issue in a different line of collectables. Ebays loss prevention department usually send out the following email once an auction that breeches auction guidelines is pulled notifying all bidders.

FYI
Gidday

The following is a courtesy notice from eBay Trust & Safety regarding:

User ID - XXXXXX

Our records show that you were a bidder or buyer of one or more of this seller's items. We recently removed all of this seller's active listings and have suspended the seller's trading privileges. Due to privacy concerns we will not be able to share further details related to this seller.

If someone claiming to be the seller asks you to complete a transaction outside of eBay, we strongly recommend that you ignore the request. Transactions for items listed on eBay that are completed outside of the eBay marketplace are not covered by the Buyer Protection services offered by eBay and can be highly indicative of fraud.

If you have not sent payment to the seller, we urge you to not proceed until you are completely confident that the transaction will be completed safely. One method for gaining confidence in the transaction is to request the seller's contact information and confirm the transaction via telephone. For instruction on how to request contact information and more "Tips for Buyers" please visit:

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Regards,
Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)

RE: Pot Lid Scam presently running on Ebay

Hi Gidday
How has this been done? Has he copied the lid off the website, then printed it on a plain chipped lid!!. People stealing bottles from collectors homes, fakes for sale, whats next.
carmo

RE: Pot Lid Scam on Ebay

Hi Carmo, im my opinion the lid exists only in digital form. It appears to have been cropped and placed on a new background directly from the web. If you have a look at the shaddow and lighting on the lid and then the background they do not match. The flare in the middle of the lid seems un-natural and probably manufactured, similar to another of other lids offered by this seller.

Most photo imaging programs have a cloning or rubber stamp tool. You simply englarge the image to work on it more easily, copy a section of the image with similar color / design to the area you wish to repair and paste away. It does take time and some skill to perform but is very effective. Ususally this is done to clean up an image but small defects can just as easily be added to mask identity. The one thing though that cannot easily be removed is all of the distinguishing marks such as imperfections on the lid itself, the applied transfer and unique crazing which is how the owner of this lid spotted its listing and contacted me.

RE: Pot Lid Scam presently running on Ebay

Hi Gidday
Thanks for that, so the buyer would obviously pay the money and no lid would arrive.
Think I will stick to the digging, it sounds safer!
Cheers
carmo

RE: Pot Lid Scam presently running on Ebay

Who knows but if there was ever a case for a prospective buyer to use escrow this would be it.

Thanks for the info